North Korea economy shrinks for first time in 5 years: BOK

North Korea’s economy contracted for the first time in five years in 2015, the South’s central bank said Friday, undermining leader Kim Jong-Un’s stated policy of simultaneous military and economic development. The isolated North’s gross domestic product appeared to have shrunk 1.1 percent last year — the first downturn since 2010 and the sharpest fall since 2007, the Bank of Korea said. The figure was based on information compiled from state and private organisations, as Pyongyang does not make public its official economic data.